A long-planned gathering of far rightwing movements from across
Europe met in Denmark on Saturday to try to form a pan-European anti-
Islamist alliance, a project that will test the cohesion of a fringe
trying to build support built on fears about immigration and militant
Islamists.

Members of European far-right groups, including the English Defense
League (EDL) and the German Defense League, arrived in the Danish
city of Aaruhus for the rally, which was expected to draw anti-
Islamic crowds from Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Poland,
Romania and Sweden, according to the Guardian.

The meeting, eight months after anti- Islam fanatic Anders Behring
Breivik killed 77 people in Norway, tested whether these groups are
recovering from the political blow Breivik dealt them, and whether
they can coordinate internationally.

Their detractors say these fringe groups, with members often
associated with violent incidents, are racists seeking to latch on to
tensions over immigration in Europe.

“We’re not expecting big numbers in Aarhus,” Stephen Lennon, the head
of the EDL, one of the biggest groups behind the gathering, told
Reuters, adding that a few hundred people would attend. “We hope it
will be the start of a European movement that will continue to grow.”

The EDL, which claims to have thousands of members, says its mission
is “to protect the inalienable rights of all people to protest
against radical Islam’s encroachment into the lives of non-Muslims.”

Peter Knoope, director of the Netherlands- based International Center
for Counter-Terrorism, said the murders in France by al-Qaida-
inspired gunman Muhammed Merah “will be exploited in terms of
propaganda... What they [the rightists] are trying to do is to
influence the political arena.”

Aahrus Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard said last week that extremists were not
welcome in Aahrus.